The first week of August, it was Canyon's turn to put on braces. He is a little luckier than Bladen this time around because he gets to use Invisalign instead of metal bracket braces. This is just phase 1 of braces for him. The purpose of this phase is to bring down his top front teeth that are growing out rather than down. If he were to have an accident & hit or land on his face, he has a bigger chance of breaking his jaw because of the direction his teeth are growing. Since Canyon is my known accident prone kiddo, we figured we'd play it safe & bring those teeth into proper position now to avoid problems in the future.
The Invisalign are great. They are clear so you don't see them & you can take them out when you eat so you're not restricted on anything like candy, chips, nuts, etc. Each week, he throws away his current set of retainers & puts on the next one (they are numbered so we know what number we are on). They are REALLY tight that first day & he says they hurt a little bit, but then his teeth move into position & he's great the rest of the week until it's time to put the next new one on.
He's very excited to see what these do for his teeth. He's been SO good & SO responsible so far with his braces. He takes very good care of them & of his teeth. His smile has always brought me joy so I'm glad it is now bringing him joy too.
By the time July 31st rolled around, we were SO tired of not having our things. Life just didn't feel normal & I could tell my kids were struggling for something familiar.
So. . . I planned a Harry Potter Birthday party & invited all the kids in the neighborhood. We didn't know ANY of them, but put the invite out there anyway & several actually showed up which was awesome.
I still didn't have my cake pans or any of my decorating supplies so I bought 2 cheap discounted cakes from the Walmart bakery, a couple tubs of white frosting, & some food coloring so I could refrost the cakes the way I wanted to. I put the frosting into a ziplock bag & "piped" it onto both cakes. It turned out just fine.
The kids all came over & we watched Harry Potter 3 (because Canyon had just finished reading it the day before) on the one TV we had in the house.
I made butterbeer, celery wands, clementine pumpkins, & few other snacks to keep the bellies full & the excitement going.
It was a very basic party, but it felt good to do SOMETHING in our home with people. We all desperately needed it.
The week after the Potter Family Reunion, we had my Sorensen Family Reunion for my dad's side of the family. I haven't seen these cousins, aunts, & uncles in YEARS (for some it's been 20 years)!
We went down to Fairview Lakes where Heather & Ryan, & Sharon & Dale both have cabins next to the beautiful lake there. Heather & Ryan let us crash at their cabin since our household goods STILL hadn't arrived (yes, it was the end of July & we STILL hadn't gotten our stuff even though they assured us we'd have it by June 24th).
The boys set up Justin's tent so they could sleep in the tent. Taya & I got a room in the cabin with beds which was super nice.
It was SO MUCH FUN being with family. My kids got to meet cousins they've never met before. Heather & Ryan made homemade root beer & the little cousins helped carry it down to the picnic tables.
Taya gets along with my Aunts SO well. She reminds them of my Grandma Ethel so they just love being around her. . . it's like having their mom around again. It's really crazy though. Most of my kids look just like Trek, but Taya is a spitting image of my Grandma Ethel.
We all gathered around for a yummy dinner of pulled pork sandwiches, salads, & sides.
The boys all went off into the forest & built the most amazing forts I've ever seen. They also caught a bunch of frogs in the pond. These boys were living their best lives here.
And it was great seeing the siblings together. My dad (Clyde) & Lynn were missing the first night, but my mom & dad were able to make it up for about an hour the 2nd day. Grandma Ethel & Grandpa Merrill would be proud of their legacy.
And of course, Trek had a blast flying his drone with all the kids. They thought he was the "coolest cousin!"
Before bed we played a HUGE game as a family with 50 people. HERD Immunity is great for HUGE crowds & we had a blast.
I was obsessed with Heather & Ryan's dog. He is SO old & SO funny. He has the cutest little tongue that always hangs out of his mouth.
Saturday morning, Trek flew his drone some more, then we played some games & got breakfast ready.
We all pitched in & helped with different parts of breakfast.
After breakfast, the younger kiddos got together & did a forest scavenger hunt together. Canyon had his posse of cousins his age & they teamed up together. At this point, they all called him "King Canyon!" I honestly don't know how Canyon is always the new kid & somehow he gets himself elected as king or mayor or the leader of everything he does. It's hilarious.
Craiger & Bladen opted to play frisbee in the field during the scavenger hunt for the little kids. Craiger got in a fight with a thistle bush & the bush won.
The girls all hung out with the young single adults in the family. I had the hardest time finding them during the whole trip. They just found each other & would run off & drive 4-wheelers, play games, or take naps. They're hilarious.
Before we left, Trek got some of the little boys together to fly the drone one last time. We got some good shots of both cabins & the lake.
It was a short trip, but boy was it worth it. I loved seeing my family for the first time in forever. I'm SO happy to be near family again.
